The Cure for Apathy
by Zollercoaster
Summary: Hiatus!Harry studied the sinister man down the street. It was clear that he wasn’t the type to help strangers, especially beggars, but this man was his only chance. He took a deep breath, clutched the child to his chest, stepped forward, and begged.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary**: Harry continued to study the sinister man walking down the street. It was clear that he wasn't the type to help strangers, especially beggars, but he had to try; this man was his only chance. He took a deep breath, clutched the child to his chest, stepped forward, and begged. AU

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter or The Cure for Modern Life, which loosely inspired this story.

I've never written an HP fic before, so I hope this debut fic is to everyone's liking.

**The Cure for Apathy**

**By Red Kitsune Flames**

Severus Snape had always prided himself on his restraint, which had developed mostly during his years at Hogwarts. It had eventually become apparent to him that while fighting back against Potter and the gang was well and good, it always earned him more trouble than it did his aggressors. He learned that adults were much more sympathetic when he appeared the helpless victim, that any sign of self-sufficiency earned him dark looks and punishment. It was generally due to those experiences that Severus Snape accepted the adage _life isn't fair _as absolutely and irrevocably true.

Of course, in more recent years his school life ended and open self-reliance had become both acceptable and necessary for his way of life. There were bullies everywhere, he knew, but without the school officials "looking out for his best interest," he was free to fight back in whatever legal manner he wished.

He now developed over-priced potions for the Ministry-run Healers' Association and was incredibly rich because of it. Or at least that was how it appeared on the surface. In reality, the HA was controlled by one Lucius Malfoy, and through him, by Lord Voldemort himself. Nevertheless, they were the main supplier of potions in England.

Severus now found himself in a position of power. Once a victim, and now a victimizer, he sold diluted potions to the masses for ridiculously large profits. After all, if there is no justice in the world, then why should he cling childishly to the light's code of ethics?

Consequently, he found himself trying to convince a well-known young ministry official to advocate the HA's newest miracle potion. The potion, _Siren's Delight _was a mood-enhancer that left the user in a state of delight and contentment for 2-72 hours, depending on the size of the dose taken. It could become addicting, of course, but what potion couldn't?

When Severus met with the young official in a hidden wizard bar in the midst of muggle London, he hadn't anticipated such irritating company. The man wanted to try the potion, of course, and Severus had been expecting as much. Unexpectedly, however, the man wanted him to take a dose as well. Severus was annoyed.

He preferred to avoid inundating addictive substances, which was once again a rare display of restraint considering that most potions were addicting and half of the wizarding population was addicted to at least one.

But this was business, and Lucius really wanted this young man's support for whatever reason, so Severus found himself taking a 4-hour dose of _Siren's Delight _along with the official he was trying to win over.

Upon taking the potion, the young official was suddenly overcome by goodwill and signed the contract Severus presented to him immediately. He then leapt up and began flirting with everyone in that flattering-but-sincere manner that Severus thought was only possible when one was drugged.

An hour passed, and Severus decided with uncharacteristic optimism that it was a wonderful night to walk around and observe muggles. So he left the bar, humming cheerfully to himself, and went for a stroll.

That was where Harry spotted him.

Harry had been living on the streets for years, ever since his relatives dumped him when he was old enough to walk, talk, and use the bathroom on his own. Fortunately or unfortunately for Harry, he quickly found himself taken in by a poor homeless woman who couldn't earn enough money on her own.

He helped her by begging on the streets, doing occasional odd jobs, and even stealing when it was absolutely necessary. Then, a few years ago, the woman had given birth to a baby girl, and he found himself with a sister to look after.

She was already three years old, but she had never spoken, so everyone assumed that she was mute. And now, she was horribly sick. His poor sister had been puking all day, and it wasn't as if she had very much in her to puke up, so he was terrified that if it kept happening she might die.

And Harry didn't want his little sister to die. He knew the reality of life on the streets, he did. He knew that it was altogether too common for children to die on the streets, but she was his sister, and he had sworn to always take care of her.

He read a book – he _did_ know how to read – that talked about magic and said that a promise was the most magical thing in the world. It said that anyone could make a magical promise, so when you swore to do something you should swear with all of your heart, and if you did, you would feel the magic and know that you were bound to fulfill that promise no matter what. As soon as he read that book, he decided that he would be a wizard from that moment on.

When his sister was born, he used his magic to promise that he would protect her.

When it became clear to him that his sister was in real need of help, he knew that he should do what he did best; he should beg. So he snatched her up and ran out of the overcrowded shack they lived in, and he searched for someone wealthy.

Then he found the man. He was dressed in dark clothing, and he had dark hair and eyes and was clearly wealthy. Harry knew the type. He was a wealthy man who looked down on people who really couldn't do anything other than beg. The man probably thought it was amusing to stroll about and look at all of the people and hum to himself as if he hadn't a care in the world.

But he had promised, and he had to save his sister, and this was the only rich person he could see around.

Harry continued to study the sinister man walking down the street. It was clear that he wasn't the type to help strangers, especially beggars, but he had to try; this man was his only chance. He took a deep breath, clutched the child to his chest, stepped forward, and begged.

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And that's that. What do you think?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary**: Harry continued to study the sinister man walking down the street. It was clear that he wasn't the type to help strangers, especially beggars, but he had to try; this man was his only chance. He took a deep breath, clutched the child to his chest, stepped forward, and begged. AU

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter or The Cure for Modern Life, which loosely inspired this story.

**The Cure for Apathy: Chapter 2**

**By Red Kitsune Flames**

Severus had certainly been surprised by the child's sudden appearance on the bridge, and had it been any other time, he probably would have told him to get lost without a moment's hesitation.

As it was, however, this was not an ordinary night. He noticed that the boy was holding a small, quivering bundle in his arms. Perhaps it was a kitten, Severus mused to himself, he did so love kittens. The thought of the small, adorable creatures caused a very uncharacteristic smile to break out on Severus's face.

"May I hold it?" he asked, pointing to the bundle.

The boy instantly tightened his arms around the bundle and pulled it to him protectively, scowling. "What? Pervert."

Severus giggled with joy. This boy was charming! "No I'm not." He sing-songed in the manner of a teasing child.

The boy regarded him suspiciously for a moment before concluding "You're drunk. Damn."

"Wrong again!" Severus exclaimed joyfully, resisting the urge to gloat. Even happy, he still had his dignity, after all. "I don't drink. Drunkeness makes one with as many secrets as I have likely to share those secrets. I wouldn't like the consequences of _that_!" He accentuated the last word by thrusting his finger authoritatively towards the boy, again in the manner of a child.

"Hmmm…" the boy was still studying him with those piercing green eyes, not that Severus cared. The boy could do whatever he wanted; it wasn't as if a muggle child could figure out that Severus was on a mood-enhancer. Even if he could, Severus was in no danger of discovery.

Severus watched the boy and his bundle for a moment before realizing that it wasn't a kitten. "I see; it's a little child!" he declared smugly.

The boy sighed. "Of course it is. This is my sister, Clara." He tugged on the baby blue blanket so that Severus could see her face. She was dark-haired, with big, dark, red-rimmed eyes.

She looked nothing like the boy, and Severus stated as much, comparing her bronze skin to his much paler skin. He leaned forward to look at her more closely as she began trembling and made a gurgling noise. She was no kitten, but she was adorable anyway.

Suddenly, she threw up, releasing a long stream of vomit that splashed a little on his shoes.

"She's sick." The boy informed him unrepentantly, "That's why I need help."

Severus smiled peacefully at the child. He'd been sick before too, after all, and it wasn't as if the girl had done it on purpose. "All she needs is some muscle relaxer to settle her stomach." He announced it without thinking.

The boy shifted his head slightly, looking up at him sweetly with those bright green eyes. "Where can I get some?"

Severus knew he should probably walk away before he accidentally said any more about potions that a muggle should know nothing of, but he couldn't resist his desire to help the baby.

There was no way that this muggle would be a threat, so he decided it was safe enough to take the boy to his London apartment and give the girl the muscle relaxer. He could always oblivate him if he found out too much.

Severus nodded decisively. "All right, come on then." His heart soared; he was helping that adorable little girl!

He led the children down the street at a hurried pace, and reached his apartment several minutes later. He pushed open the red-brown door and beckoned them inside, quickly closing it behind him.

"Sit." He indicated the olive green couch in the center of the room before stalking off to grab the potion from his stores. He found the dark blue flask back of the cupboard, clearly labeled.

On his way back to the living room, he downed a shimmering sleeping potion from a small, clear bottle he had grabbed on the way out. Severus knew there was no way that he would be able to sleep otherwise.

"Alright, hand her to me." He said as he re-entered the living room.

Once again, the boy glared at him suspiciously. "Why should I?" he muttered, eyeing the bottle in Snape's hand. "Is that medicine? I've never seen any that looked like that before…"

Of course the muggle had never seen a proper potion before. "Do you want my help or not?" Severus asked in a lighthearted manner, holding his arms out for the little girl.

The boy's grip tightened around his sister for a moment before he relaxed his grip in resignation. He approached Severus cautiously and deposited the child in his arms. "I'm watching you." He warned.

The weightless creature in his arms, however, distracted Severus. "Hello baby." He cooed at her, delighted when she beamed back up at him. He plopped down onto the couch.

Severus carefully put the flask to her dry lips, tilting it so only a small trickle ran into her mouth and rubbing her throat gently so that she would swallow. "There we go." He cooed at her again, pulling the bottle away as he felt her body start to relax.

He looked up at the boy, who was peering at his sister so intently that he could burn a hole right through her. He seemed to relax when he realized that she was calming down.

If Severus hadn't felt so drained, his next task would probably have been to kick the children out of his apartment. Happy or no, he knew that keeping muggle children with him was probably a bad idea.

Unfortunately for Severus, he was so tired that he had fallen asleep right there on the couch.

When he woke up the next morning with a groan, he was disoriented. Why was on the couch of this apartment that he only used during brief stays in London? Then it all came back to him.

He cast a quick tempus spell to check the time, remembering that he was set to portkey to Egypt for an HA convention that morning. He pushed himself up off of the couch and walked in to the kitchen, taking a seat on one of the dark brown kitchen chairs and conjuring up some breakfast.

That was when he heard a small intake of breath from the doorway. Looking up, Severus met the shocked green eyes of the boy from the night before. The children hadn't left yet.

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Okay, I intend to update this more frequently now that testing is over. Sorry for the initial wait after the first chapter. (Would have been here sooner if FF would let me log in...)


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